2025 Traub Art and Music Award Winners Announced!

BHS congratulates the following exceptional Bloomfield Hills High School students for being named this year’s Traub Award recipients: Art Award Winner: Dylan Psenka; Music Award Winner: Jinglu Jiang; Art Alternate: Sage Booth; and Music Alternate: Megan Zelmanov.

These students, along with the other grade 12 nominees, underwent a rigorous selection process. A panel of adjudicators, including BHHS art and music department teachers and guest judges, chose the winners and alternates based on their portfolios and performances, resumes, essays, and interviews. The students’ dedication and passion throughout the process was  impressive! The other nominees for art included: Alexis Albert, Sierra Anthony, Roman Bahri, Renee Charnesky, Sarah Gaines, Seven Hannah, Karl Jurtz, Anna Kohl, Brody Oleshansky, Birdie Parker, Pallavi Ploucha, Wesley Rawlings, Constantin Schenke, Kendall Schulz, and Anylah Willaims. For music, the other nominees were: Jack Ganezer and Seven Hannah.

 2025 Traub music nominees' musical selections

 2025 Traub Award art nominees' presentation

The award ceremony included beautiful performances by The Jills and Bloomfield Chorale, led by BHHS choir director Jessica Riley, and the BHHS Jazz Ensemble, led  by BHHS band director Alan Posner. Lucy Bates, the granddaughter of Robert C.J. Traub, for whom the award is named, shared the history of the award via video and thanked the artists, parents, and faculty members for their dedication to the arts. Principal Dr. Dan Hartley, art teacher Matt Beauchamp, and orchestra director Sean Brennan shared speeches and introduced the candidates. Superintendent Rick West had the honor to present the awards to the winners and alternates. 

For 69 years, the Traub Award has been an important cornerstone in the arts of Bloomfield Hills Schools. The Robert C.J. Traub Memorial Scholarship Travel Fund began in 1956, with a generous gift from Elizabeth Taylor Traub as a way to honor her husband, Robert C. J. Traub, and his great love of art and music. Elizabeth stipulated that the funds were to be held in trust and continue in perpetuity. The purpose of the scholarship is to contribute to the general cultural enrichment of the recipients and not primarily to advancement of their technical education in art or music. This wonderful gift enables recipients, one each year in art and music, to travel abroad and experience the rich culture and deep history of European countries. Past recipients have shared that they return with a deeper and more meaningful appreciation of their field of interest. To learn more about the Traub Award, visit the Traub Scholarship web page.